Oregon St. Upsets Arizona St., 30-14 : Pacific 10: Sophomore quarterback Don Shanklin, in his first college start, leads Beavers.

Back in 1991, new Oregon State Coach Jerry Pettibone figured he had a major recruiting coup when he signed option quarterback Don Shanklin out of Amarillo, Tex.

On Saturday, Shanklin showed how good he can be.

In his first college start, the quick sophomore rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns before being hurt in the fourth quarter as the Beavers upset Arizona State, 30-14, in a Pacific 10 game.

“It brought back old memories,” said Shanklin, who sat out the 1991 season because he failed his college entrance exam and played only briefly as a freshman before a knee injury knocked him out for the season.

“I sat out a year and you have to get the feel of the game,” he said. “You have to get in there and really be comfortable before you can do what you want to do or what you’re able to do.”

Shanklin was certainly comfortable as he directed the Beavers to a 27-0 lead in the second quarter.

“From the first play, I was not nervous at all,” he said. “I felt really confident in our team and I knew that everyone else felt the same way.

“We just put it together and took off like a bullet.”

The Beavers’ offense hadn’t scored in eight quarters.

But Shanklin, pressed into starting duty because of injuries to Ian Shields, had touchdown runs of one and 31 yards.

He also completed all five of his passes for 43 yards before leaving the game because of a bruised left foot with 9:05 to play.

The injury is not believed to be serious. And when Shanklin comes back, he’ll be the starter.

“Yes, Don Shanklin won himself a starting position today,” Pettibone said. “Don improved tremendously in practice this week, but you don’t know what will happen until you get out on the field.”

Oregon State, 2-3 overall and 1-2 on the Pac-10, beat Arizona State on the field for the first time since 1971, before the Sun Devils joined the conference. The Beavers won by forfeit over Arizona State in 1979.

The Beavers, whose option attack amassed 419 yards on the ground, broke a nine-game Pac-10 losing streak and have won two games in a season for the first time since 1989.

“We slowed them down a little bit, but we couldn’t stop them,” Arizona State defensive end Shante Carver said.

Arizona State (2-2, 0-1) scored both of its touchdowns in the final 1:05 of the first half to cut the lead to 27-14 but could get no closer.

“It was a frustrating game,” Arizona State Coach Bruce Snyder said. “That offense is at its very best when it’s ahead. That’s how they played the entire day.

“The option is difficult. It’s difficult to prepare for in one week,” Snyder said. “We made some major errors in assignments.”

The Beavers had a 316-179 advantage in total yards at halftime and 126-7 after one quarter.

J.J. Young rushed for 105 yards for Oregon State, including a 75-yard touchdown run after a pitch from Shanklin with 10:15 to play in the second quarter to put the Beavers ahead 20-0.

Oregon State made consistent yardage up the middle throughout the game, including Chad Paulson’s 20-yard scoring run that put the Beavers ahead, 27-0, with 2:30 left in the first half.